What type of documents to provide
This page explains what type of documents you must provide with your application form to apply to study in the United Kingdom and how they return them to you.
You must send original documents with your application as they do not accept copies.
If your documents are not in English or Welsh, you must send a fully certified translation by a professional translator.
The documents to prove your availability of your money must be dated no more than one month before you submit your application.
Choose a heading below to show more information.
More information
-
Original documents
Documents must be issued by an authorised official of the issuing organisation and be:
- original; and
- on the official letter-headed paper or stationery of the organisation.
You must provide the correct documents to support your visa application with your application form. They will not contact you if you do not send the correct documents and may refuse your application.
-
Translated documents
If one of your documents is not in English or Welsh, the original must be sent with a fully certified translation by a professional translator. This translation must include:- the translator’s qualifications;
- confirmation from the translator that it is an accurate translation of the original document;
- the date;
- the translator’s signature.
-
How they return your documents
If you are applying from inside the United Kingdom, your documents will be returned to you by post to the address you provide on your application. If a representative makes an application on your behalf your documents will be returned to them. Your documents will be returned using recorded delivery. If you want your documents to be returned by special delivery, you should provide a prepaid special delivery envelope. You can also arrange for your documents to be collected by courier at your own cost. If you would like to arrange a courier, put a courier request in writing by fax to 0114 207 5862.
If you are outside the United Kingdom, your documents will be returned in the same way you sent them. For example, if you took them to a visa issuing post, the visa issuing post will return them to you.
Type of study or work placement I can do
This page explains the type of study or work placement you can do as an adult student.
You must study a course at an acceptable level, and you should check to see what the requirements for each type of course are.
You can do a work placement if it is not more than 50% of the length of the course in the United Kingdom, and you can do a Student Union sabbatical officer job for up to two years.
Postgraduate doctors and dentists can do a recognised Foundation programme for up to three years.
Choose a heading below to show more information.
More information
-
What are the acceptable levels of courses that I can study as an adult student?
You can get a visa letter for courses that lead to an approved qualification and are:- approved at level 3 or above on the National Qualifications framework (NQF);
- approved at the same level in the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF);
- approved at the same level by the Qualifications, Curriculum and Assessment Authority for Wales (ACCAC);
- approved at the same level by the Council for Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) in Northern Ireland;
- are short-term study abroad programmes in the United Kingdom as part of your qualification at an overseas higher education institution, as long as the qualification is confirmed as the same as a United Kingdom degree level by UK NARIC. You can find contact details for UK NARIC on the right side of this page; or
- an English language course at a level A2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. If you want to do another English language course after your first course, you will need to show a formal assessment of the English language level you got.
-
Full-time study
As an adult student, you must be doing full-time study in the United Kingdom on either:
- a full-time course of study that leads to a United Kingdom recognised bachelor or postgraduate degree; or
- an overseas higher education course which is recognised as being equivalent to a United Kingdom higher education qualification at an overseas higher education institution (this can include a work placement); or
- a course of study below United Kingdom degree level that involves a minimum of 15 hours per week organised daytime study (daytime study is 8am – 6pm, Monday to Friday).
-
English language course
-
Higher education course at an overseas institution
If you are enrolled on a higher education course at overseas higher education institution, you can do a short-term study abroad programme in the United Kingdom as part of your qualification.
This is as long as the qualification is validated as the same level or above as a United Kingdom degree by UK NARIC. You can find contact details for UK NARIC on their website at http://www.naric.org.uk/.
-
Postgraduate doctors and dentists
You are allowed to do a recognised Foundation Programme as a postgraduate doctor or dentist in the United Kingdom in the adult student category as long as you meet all the requirements for the category.
There are also some additional requirements you must meet. These are as follows.
You must have successfully completed a recognised United Kingdom degree in medicine or dentistry from:
- an approved education provider who has a license to bring in students; or
- a United Kingdom publicly funded institution of further or higher education; or
- an institution on the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) list of recognised bodies or listed bodies, which keeps satisfactory records of enrolment and attendance. These lists can be found at the DIUS website.
You must have been given permission to stay in the United Kingdom as a student under the rules in place before 31 March 2009 or as an adult student. This permission must have covered your final academic year and at least one other academic year of your studies leading to the above degree.
You can get a maximum period of three years’ permission to stay as an adult student to do a recognised Foundation Programme as a postgraduate doctor or dentist.
-
Work placements
As an adult student, you will be allowed to do a work placement as part of your course of study, as long as the work placement is an assessed part of the course. In most cases, the work placement must be no more than 50% of the length of the course in the United Kingdom. An example is if a course is two years long and the first year of the course involves full-time study, with the last year in a work placement.The work placement can only be more than 50% of the length of the course if there is a legal (statutory) requirement for the course to contain a specific period of work placement.
If you are enrolled on a higher education course at an overseas higher education institution and you are coming to the United Kingdom to do part of your course, you may also do a work placement as part of your course as long as it is no more than 50% of your study in the United Kingdom.
If you have a visa letter for a course which involves a work placement, your approved education provider will remain responsible for you throughout the work placement.
-
Course to prepare you for study (also known as pre-sessional)
A course to prepare you for study is an intensive English language course or any other course you take to prepare you for your main course of study in the United Kingdom. The course must be at the correct level for adult students or child students, whichever applies to you.
If you have an unconditional offer of a place on your main course, we will give permission for both courses at the same time if you are doing the course to prepare you for study:
- with the same approved education provider as your main course; or
- with a partner institution named on the approved education provider’s licence.
If you only have a conditional offer to do your main course, you will need to apply to do the course to prepare you for study first. If you successfully finish that course, you should apply for a new visa while inside the United Kingdom to continue your studies on your full-time course. We will send you a letter to let you know we have received your application. As long as you make your application before your permission to stay runs out, you can start the full-time course in the meantime. You do so at your own risk as we could refuse your application.
If the course to prepare you for study is below the acceptable level, you may want to apply under a different immigration route. But it is not possible to switch into the adult or child student category if you are in the United Kingdom as a child visitor or student visitor. You must leave at the end of your course and apply from outside the United Kingdom.
-
Student Union sabbatical officers
A student union sabbatical job is a full-time, salaried, elected executive union position. You may take this job during your studies or in the academic year immediately after you graduate, and you must apply as an adult student.
If you take the job while you still have time left in your permission to stay as an adult student, your approved education provider must let us know as they are responsible for you until your permission to stay (known as leave to remain) runs out.
If you want to do the job at the end of your course, and you have no more time left in your permission to stay as a student, you must apply again and meet the requirements of the category.
A sabbatical job is normally for one academic year and you may be given permission to stay as an adult student to cover this time. If you are re-elected after one year, you will have to apply again. You can only have the job for a maximum of two years.
The requirement that a work placement be no more than 50% of your overall course in the United Kingdom does not include any period that you are in post as a student union sabbatical officer.
While your education provider is not exempt (free) from their reporting duties, your contact with them is likely to be different because of the nature of your work.
You can do additional work but it is restricted to part-time work during term-time (no more than 20 hours a week) and full-time work during vacations, if you are not working full-time for the Students’ Union in the vacations.
-
Extra studies
As a child or adult student, you are allowed to do extra courses, for example, evening courses, as well as your main studies. The course can be on any subject, and does not have to relate to your main course of study.
You do not need permission from us to do extra studies, and you do not need to tell your approved education provider. But you must make sure that the extra course does not get in the way of the course that you have permission to stay for.
for more info you may